Front Locker pulls HARD

[spylife]

I just finished replacing my front locker with an auto locker. years back i put one in my jeep and it works great. I was testing it out going around the block (if it goes bad i'm close to home!) I know normal operation on pavement would be realllly bad but for testing purposes i was looking for normal straight drive operation and typically it should fight a little if i try to turn.

I got out, engaged my hub lockers, put it in 4 hi, started driving and it yanked my steering wheel hard right. driving only a few feet forward slowly got it stuck all the way right. i couldn't muscle it straight. if i backed up it would straighten out but continuing to back up never switched to turning left, it just stayed straight. start moving forward and bam, tight right again.

heres the next problem. I dissengaged the hub lockers, but i coudn't get it out of 4. I could put it in N or 4HI, but it wouldn't shift back into 2Hi. I went back and forth and after a few times something finally released. i had my stearing back, and i could shift to 2HI again.

I popped it back on jack stands and verrified the wheels turn the same rate and pressure is matched. verified the wheels can turn seperate w/out throttle (the lovely click sound).

any ideas? not sure what to check next.

 

[Pin_Head]

Sounds strange. I never noticed anything like that with any front autolocker. Typically, they want to go straight on high traction surfaces They don't like operating on high traction surfaces. Try it on dirt and see what happens.

 

[69LC]

I popped it back on jack stands and verrified the wheels turn the same rate and pressure is matched. verified the wheels can turn seperate w/out throttle

Was this the front wheels turning the same rate or front and rear axles? After reading, re-reading and again, it almost sounds like you have unequal axle ratios front and rear. Is that a possibility? Have either of your diffs or axles been swapped?

 

[Living in the Past]

Sounds like one of your hubs isn't locking. I use to remove my rear driveline towing. When I got home and disconnected to drive it into the garage I locked only one hub. It steering funny with only one wheel driving it but better than both locked.

 

[spylife]

as far as i know nothing was swapped out. i checked and the front is 4.1:1. i've used 4 lo before the swap and it worked just fine, no issues, on pavement too but it was an open front. I jacked up the front and marked the tires and rotated them several times and they rotated identically. I'll try again on pavement (dirt is a bit further away), just locking 1 wheel and make sure no issues, then swap and only lock the other. maybe more info will help identify the issue. Thanks for everyone's feedback!

 

[Weber Sarge]

With no differential in the transfer case you should never run it in 4wd on dry pavement - really good way to bind the driveline hard enough to cause breakage , especially with a locker . Take it out in the dirt , period .
Sarge

 

[spylife]

Ok, I'll run my tests out on dirt and see how she does. Also I double checked and my tires did NOT have the same pressure. The right one was low by 3 psi.

 

[Howard705]

Ya gravel grass anything else! Find a tree in wet grass. In low. bumper against tree spin tires a couple rotations then get out to see if all spun